Blog Archives

“It is Allah who erected the heavens without pillars that you [can] see; then He established Himself above the Throne and made subject the sun and the moon, each running [its course] for a specified term. He arranges [each] matter; He details the signs that you may, of the meeting with your Lord, be certain.” [13:2]

This is a time-lapse video resulting from a 15,000 km (almost 10,000 miles) long road trip and tens of thousands of images taken along the way over the last 5 months. The journey has covered all of Norway’s 19 counties, from the far south to the Russian border in the Northeast. The Aim of this 5 minute short film is to show the variety of Norway, everything from the deep fjords in the Southwest, to the moon landscape in the North, the Aurora Borealis (Nothern Lights) and the settlements and cities around the country, both in summer and wintertime. The video shows some of the most scenic places in Norway, such as Lofoten, Senja, Helgelandskysten, Geirangerfjorden, Nærøyfjorden and Preikestolen.

Scientists and Auroras

Scientists have spent many hours studying these lights, trying to understand how it came to be. One of the early theories was that the Northern lights are a reflection of the light from the ice caps. The first scientist who started seriously studying this phenomenon was Galileo Galilei who came up with the name aurora borealis borrowing names from Aurora, the Roman goddess of the dawn, and Boreas, Greek name for the northern wind.

Auroras on Other Planets

Because there are magnetic fields on other planets in the Solar System and deep atmosphere on Jupiter and Saturn, the gas giants, they have spectacular auroras. Mars also has auroras, although much weaker than on Earth.

Where to Go to See It?

The best places to view auroras are high northern latitudes during the winter, Alaska, Canada, and Scandinavia. During very large solar activity events, the aurora may be seen throughout the US and Europe, but these events are rare. The furthest it has been recorded was in Mexico City back in 1958.

Natural Attraction

Various debris, radiation, and other magnetic waves from space attack Earth daily. Without a shield, there would be no life on the Earth. Our planet’s magnetic field does a good job of protecting us and deflecting the deadly rays, including the ones from the Sun. When the particles approach the globe, they are drawn to the poles.

What Are the Northern Lights?

Solar wind or particles from the Sun rush towards the Earth at a tremendous speed of 90 miles per second on a journey of 93 million miles through space to tackle the Earth. When they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, they are mixed with oxygen and nitrogen gases and create light.